Redemption
by twilightrockz
Summary: When Malfoy and Zabini save Hermione from Greyback during the Final Battle, she's forever grateful. One year later, everyone is going back to Hogwarts. How will things play out? Hermione/Blaise! R&R!
1. Chapter 1

**Summary: When Malfoy and Zabini saves Hermione from Greyback during the final battle, she's forever grateful. One year later, everyone is going back for their final year at Hogwarts. How will things play out? **

**A/N: Hey, everyone, I haven't done a Harry Potter fic before so, I don't know how this is going to turn out… Anyway, I'm changing Hermione's style to a little bit more punk but, her attitude will stay the same, for the most part. Also, they are returning a year later because Hogwarts doesn't repair its self. XD **

**Disclaimer: I do not own any part of Harry Potter :'(**

**Now, lets start the story!**

"_NO!" shrieked Hermione, and with a deafening blast from her wand, Fenrir Greyback was thrown backward from the feebly stirring body of Lavender Brown. He hit the marble banisters and was struggling to his feet._

"Harry! We have to help her!" With a quick glance behind her, Hermione saw that the boys were already on the other side of the hall. She ran forward and got to her knees next to Lavender. She checked her pulse and was relieved to at least feel the feeble pounding of her vein. She glanced up at Greyback, who was only 100 feet away, almost to his feet. She got up and stood in between Lavender and Greyback, preparing herself to fight. When he was finally to his feet, he looked up and snarled. She raised her wand, trying to think of a strong enough spell to keep him down for a couple of minutes. Her hand was shaking and Greyback could practically smell her fear. He started walking closer, when a beam of red light from over her shoulder hit him square in his chest. She spun quickly to see Malfoy and an olive colored skin slytherin, they both had their wands raised and Malfoy was wearing his trademark smirk.

"Well, are you just going to stand there? That spell wasn't very powerful." Malfoy asked sneering at her.

"I can't leave her here!" She yelled, pointing to Lavender. He rolled his eyes.

"Fine, i'll grab her." He said bending down to pick Lavender up. He started walking towards the Great Hall, dodging hexes and curses. She started following him stunning two death eaters on the way and dodging at least ten hexes.

"Traitor!" Someone hissed. A death eater, who's mask had been knocked off, blocked the entrance. He was at least 6 feet tall and she could tell he was powerful. Hermione panicked. Before she could stop herself from saying it the incantation flew out of her mouth.

"_Sectumspectra!" _ The death eater didn't think she would be the one to attack so he didn't have time to dodge the curse. She started wide-eyed as the death eater fell face first on the floor, huge gashes covered the front side of his body.

"Damn, Granger, who knew you had it in you?" Malfoy mumbled. She shook her head. _Why did I do that?_, she asked herself.

"I-I didn't mean too, I-I…" She trailed off not knowing what to say. She had used dark magic. That technically made her a dark witch. What if she went to Azkaban or something? She knew she was being absurd. They wouldn't send her to Azkaban when it was used as self-defense. She tried shaking the thought but, it seemed to be embedded into her brain.

She felt someone pulling her into the Great Hall where Malfoy laid Lavenders body with the others. He then went to find Poppy. She could vaguely feel someone shaking her.

"Should we slap her?" Someone she didn't recognize said, shaking her again. She realized her eyes were closed and quickly opened them. When she did, it looked like she was gazing into pools of honey. She blinked a couple of times and stood quickly. This wasn't the time to concern herself with that. She couldn't fall apart now, Harry needed her.

"Um, not to be rude but, who is this?" She asked pointing to the boy with the honey eyes, who was looking at her curiously. She looked at Malfoy, raising an eyebrow.

"Oh, that's Blaise Zabini, a Slytherin." Hermione rolled her eyes at the obvious knowledge. "Now if you don't mind I need to find my parents." He ran out of the hall leaving her and Blaise alone. She bit her lip and looked up at him.

"I need to find Harry and Ro-"She was cut off mid-sentence by Ron barging through the doors. Upon spotting her, he ran over to them.

"Hermione, Snape's dead. I don't know where Harry went, he was just bloody gone." He said, looking over at Blaise in curiosity. All of a sudden, Voldemort's voice began echoing all over the castle.

"You have fought valiantly. Lord Voldemort knows how to value bravery. Yet you have sustained losses. If you continue to resist me, you will all die, one by one. I do not wish this to happen. Every drop of magical blood spilled is a loss and a waste. Lord Voldemort is merciful. I command my forces to retreat immediately. You have one hour. Dispose of your dead with dignity. Treat your injured."

"I speak now, Harry Potter, directly to you. You have permitted your friends to die for you rather than face me yourself. I shall wait for one hour in the Forbidden Forest. If, at the end of that hour, you have not come to me, have not given yourself up, then battle recommences. This time I will enter the fray myself, Harry Potter, and I shall find you, and I shall punish every last man, women and child who has tried to conceal you from me. One hour." The chilling voice ended.

Hermione sat back down.

"Well, what do we do? We don't know where Harry is and that's assuming he hasn't already gone to Voldemort." She sighed and dropped her head in her hands. She heard someone sit down.

"Come on, Granger, where's the Gryffindor courage? There's still time for Potter." She looked up and saw Blaise sitting next to her. She nodded her head. She was determined to stay calm, for Harry.

"Your right, there's not much we can do right now, it's up to Harry." She said smiling at him. He smiled back.

"Alright, what's happening here? Hermione, who is he?" Ron said jerking his head towards Blaise. Hermione was about to answer when she was cut off.

"Don't talk about me like I'm not sitting right here, Weasley." He said, narrowing his eyes and standing up. Ron turned a little red out of anger, which was Hermione's cue to intervene. She stood up putting a hand on each of their chests.

"Seriously, guys? We are in the middle of fighting a war and you guys are fighting amongst yourselves? Ron, calm down. By the way, this is Blaise Zabini, one of Malfoy's friends." She said sitting back down.

"Malfoy?! You've got to be bloody kidding! Hermione, he's a bloody death eater!" Ron said turning red again. He grabbed her arm and pulled her closer to him. She immediately yanked her arm back and scooted back over, accidentally bumping against Blaise's chest.

" Before you do anything rash, let me say that they saved me from Greyback. Where the bloody hell were you?" She shouted, crossing her arms. "Oh, yeah that's right; you just bloody left me standing in the middle of a hall full of fighting death eaters! And just because Malfoy is thought to be a Death Eater doesn't mean that Blaise is one too." She huffed and closed her eyes, counting to ten before opening them. She realized she was still leaning on Blaise and scooted away.

She stood up again and decided that she should see if there was anything she could do to help the injured. She found Poppy, who taught her the awakening spell, for anyone who had been stunned.

She had awakened about 10 people, trying not to look at the people who didn't move. When she felt someone behind her, she thought it was Ron to apologize.

"Look, Ron-"she stopped talking when she looked up. "Oh, sorry, I thought you were Ron" She said chuckling.

"That's ok. Can I help?" Blaise said, sticking his hands in his pockets and producing his wand. She was slightly surprised but nodded. She taught him the wand movements and the incantation. He caught on pretty quickly and they soon had half the hall done. They stayed close to each other, talking about their family and how Blaise is Italian and is fluent is speaking his native language. She was about to ask why he was being so nice to her when Draco came through the doors. He ran his hand through his hair. When he spotted them, he came over and raised an eyebrow.

"What are you guys doing?" He asked, trying to refrain from calling Granger 'mudblood'. Old habits die hard.

"We are trying to awaken the people who were stunned. It's taking more time than we thought. The hour will be over in about 2 minutes." Hermione answered looking at her watch. She immediately started worrying. What if Harry had gone to Voldemort and given himself in? What if he was dead right now and she would never be able to see him again? She tried pulling herself together for the 3rd time that night. Falling apart won't help anyone, she chastised herself.

"Harry Potter is dead. He was killed as he ran away, trying to save himself while you lay down your lives for him." Voldemort's voice, once again, echoed around them. Hermione's body shook with sobs; she felt someone's arms around her waist, trying to calm her. The person smelt like spice and musk and she felt oddly comforted.

"We bring you his body as proof that your hero is gone. The battle is won. You have lost half of your fighters. My Death Eaters outnumber you, and the Boy Who Lived is finished. There must be no more war. Anyone who continues to resist, man, woman or child, will be slaughtered, as will every member of their family. Come out of the castle now, kneel before me, and you shall be spared. Your parents and children, your brothers and sisters will live and be forgiven, and you will join me in the new world we shall build together." Hermione pulled away from arms, looking into Blaise's eyes, again. She smiled a watery smile and started walking. She felt someone grab her hand.

"Where are you going?" Blaise asked.

"I am going outside; I need to see for myself." She said. Blaise looked at Malfoy who nodded. They started walking when Hermione noticed Blaise was still holding her hand. She gently took her hand back and looked around for Ron. When she didn't see him she assumed he was already outside. She turned back around and followed Malfoy and Blaise.

She almost laughed at the irony of the situation. She was in Hogwarts during the Final Battle following Malfoy who was actually being nice to her. She didn't know if Blaise's family had ties with Death Eaters or not but, she made a mental note to ask him sometimes soon.

When they got outside, half of the fighters were already out there. She heard McGonagall scream and then everyone was shouting. She was numb. Harry couldn't be dead, he had to save them! She put a hand over her mouth to keep from screaming. She saw Neville step towards the line of Death Eaters. It's like everything was fast forwarding from then on. She knew Blaise and Malfoy felt uncomfortable when everyone around them was screaming "Dumbledore's Army". She watched in amazement as Neville produced the Gryffindor sword and chopped off Nagini's head. Within a second, wands were drawn and curses were flying. She felt someone grab her wrist and narrowly avoided a stunning curse.

"Take out your wand, Granger! Don't get out of my sight!" Blaise said, talking in her ear. She took out her wand and stunned a death eater. She saw Blaise smile. She stayed by his side but, she couldn't see Draco anymore. When she saw Luna and Ginny trying to fight Bellatrix, she immediately ran over to help. Soon, they were all shooting hexes and dodging. She heard Hagrid yelling that Harry was gone. And she felt a brief shimmer of hope. That ended when Bellatrix pointed her wand at her.

"_Avada Kedavra!" _

"_Protego" _She snapped her head to the side to see Blaise standing there his wand pointed between Bellatrix and Hermione. Blaise had saved her life. **(I don't know if Protego works with the killing curse but, you will just have to bare with me ********) **

Bellatrix looked murderous and Hermione was suddenly afraid for Blaise.

"Get out of my way girls, this bitch is mine!" Mrs. Weasley said, pushing the girls aside. With a flick of her wand they started dueling. Hermione threw her arms around Blaise's neck.

"That's the second time you saved my life tonight. Thank you." She suddenly remembered where she was, in the middle of a war, and dropped her arms. Blaise just smirked at her.

"Actually, Draco was the one who stunned Greyback. But, your welcome." He said chuckling.

"Draco?" She whispered. Who would have thought? She asked herself. Draco saved a muggle-born.

She heard Mrs. Weasley say the killing curse and looked back in time to see Bellatrix fall to the ground. She heard Voldemort scream as he lost one of his best fighters. She grabbed Blaise's hand and pulled him back inside the castle, only having to stun one death eater along the way. When they got back into the Great Hall she saw almost all of the dead people's bodies gone. There were 3 of the house tables back but on one side of the hall more bodies were laying on the floor. She saw Draco sitting with his family. She walked up to him, ignoring his parents, not knowing how they were going to react to her.

"Do you know if Harry is alive? Have you seen him?" She asked still holding Blaise's hand, which didn't go unnoticed by Draco. But it wasn't Draco who answered.

"Last time I saw Harry he was alive, I imagine him to still be." Draco's mother said. Looking up at Hermione and Blaise curiously. Hermione became very aware that she was still holding his hand and dropped it, causing Draco to smirk. She just stuck her tongue out at him.

"Oh, very mature, Granger." He said which caused everyone to laugh a little. She heard Harry's voice, he sounded like he was outside the doors. She ran back to the front of the hall and threw the doors open, which was difficult, since they were so big. She saw Harry and Voldemort circling each other and almost cried with relief. Harry was still alive, he could save them! She was close enough to hear them talking about how Snape was never on Voldemort's side because he loved Harry's mom. What she heard next though, she could barely hold back a chuckle. Draco Malfoy was the true master of the Elder Wand. She turned around and saw that Draco was standing with his parents, a look of complete shock on his face. She turned back around in time to see Harry and Voldemort yell a hex and curse respectively. She held her breath and watch in absolute amazement as Voldemort practically killed himself. She ran toward Harry about a minute after Voldemort fell and threw her arms around his neck. He laughed.

"You did it, Harry! You defeated Voldemort!" She could see him blushing so she stepped back and laughed.

"It's finally over." He said but, she had a feeling that he was talking more to himself. She saw the rest of the school coming over to congratulate him so she stepped back over to Blaise. Harry raised her eyebrows at her and she just shrugged. She saw Blaise talking with Malfoy but, they looked up when she came over. She looked at Draco.

"I wanted to, um, thank you for saving me from Greyback earlier." She said, managing to maintain eye contact. He smirked at her.

"I guess I have to, um, thank you too, for the death eater thing." He obviously wasn't good at thanking people. She chuckled and he glared at her. What he did next completely surprised her. He hugged her. Draco Malfoy _hugged_ her, Hermione Granger, a mudblood.

"It doesn't make you evil, you know." He whispered and smiled reassuringly at her. She found herself smiling back. She looked up to gauge the reaction of his parents and found that they were simply smiling down at Draco.

"Tell us, Draco, how did you save her life?" His father asked him. Draco smirked and launched into a, most likely exaggerated, story of what they had been doing during the battle. She flinched when he told his parents about the curse she had used on the death eater.

"He's right, you know. It doesn't make you evil." She shivered when she felt Blaise's breath next to her ear. She smiled at him and nodded, trying to believe that. She felt his arms wrap around her waist. She saw Harry walking over and only left his arms when he was closer.

"Hey, Harry." She said. He looked a little uncomfortable and she noticed that Draco and his parents were watching them.

"Hey, Hermione." He said pulling her into a hug. She noticed that he was very skinny and must be exhausted. "So, who is everyone?" He asked nodding towards the little gathering.

"Oh, right, sorry. This is Blaise Zabini; you already know Draco and those are his parents." Blaise stepped forward and shook his hand; Hermione couldn't help but notice the way his muscles flexed. He caught her staring and winked. She blushed a bright red.

"I'm Narcissa Malfoy and this is Luius, but I think you already know that. I wanted to thank you for finally defeating the Dark Lord, and I wanted to apologize for anything hurtful our family has done to you or your friends. I know that apologizing doesn't help anything but, I thought you should know that we are sorry." She said nodding at Hermione near the end. Harry was stunned but wasn't quite sure he could trust them completely. When she saw Ron walking over to them she stiffened. She looked at Harry, then Hermione and the rest of them. He sneered before walking over to them. This should be good, she thought to herself.

"Congratulations, Harry, I always knew you could do it." He said clapping his best mate on the back. She felt Blaise wrap his arms around her waist and almost pushed them away. Almost.

"Hello, Ron." She said. He just nodded in her direction.

"Did you guys have a row or something?" Harry asked them.

"No, Ronald is being stupid and immature. Grow up, Ron." She said rolling her eyes. She heard Draco snort.

"That's bloody rich coming from a girl who snogs someone one minute and then in a couple hours is practically shagging another person. God I knew I couldn't trust a mudblood." He said sneering. Hermione gasped her hand flying to her mouth. Within seconds, she was half way behind Blaise who standing beside Malfoy, both had their wands drawn.

"Take. It. Back." Blaise snarled.

"Now." Draco added.

"Oh, right because you never called her that, Malfoy." Ron retorted. Draco lowered his wand and almost turned around before he spun quickly and punched Ron right in the jaw. Even Draco's father smirked.

At that point McGonagall came around the corner, taking in the scene before her. Ron was on the ground rubbing his jaw. Mr. Zabini was standing protectively in front of Miss Granger and Mr. Malfoy was rubbing his hands.

"I don't even want to know what happened." She muttered. "I've come to tell the students that the professors will need a year to fix Hogwarts and re-stock the classrooms. You will be staying with your families for a year and then you will return here. The Hogwarts Express is waiting as are the carriages." She finished, looking around at everyone.

"How many Death Eaters are left out there?" Hermione asked, moving to stand on the other side of Blaise.

"Well, we believe that we have them all but, we can't be certain. By the way, Mr. Malfoy, you have been cleared of all charges, Dumbledore's portrait told us where the late Headmaster had left a letter regarding you specifically. We can talk about it later. You will however have your wand confiscated for a month." She said looking at Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy, who were smiling at her.

"Thank you, Minerva." Luius said. She nodded, took a look at Ron who had gotten up and told him to go find Poppy and make sure he was ok. He nodded and after glaring at Malfoy, he hurried to the Great Hall.

As Blaise's arm slipped around her waist, she couldn't help but think how much she couldn't wait for the next school year.

**Alright, that chapter was longer than I expected it to be, lol. Anyway, let me know if you like it. I know it was kind of rushed but, I had to get through the Final Battle part since, it was important to the story. I know Draco's parents wouldn't normally be so accepting of Hermione but, I am writing them to fit my story not the other way around and Ron is going to stay a prat. So if you have any other questions you can put them into a review. ******** R&R!!!!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey people, I just can't wait to get on with this story! I wanted to update sooner but I had like 4 chapters written and decided I didn't like it so I rewrote them all. I was kinda mad that I was careless with the writing but I try my best and that's all I can ask for. Anyway, onto the story! Also, Fred didn't die in the Final battle.**

Hermione awoke with a start. She could've sworn someone was in her room.

"Oh, good, you're awake. That saves me a lot of trouble." Said a chuckling Ginny.

"Merlin, Ginny! You almost gave me a heart attack!" She whispered. Since the war had ended, everyone was a little nervous.

"What time is it?" Hermione whispered groggily, while stretching.

"It's time for you to get your lazy arse out of bed. Were going back to Hogwarts today! You can stop whispering, too, everyone else is awake, except of course Ron."She said snickering. Hermione nodded quickly and chuckled with her. Ginny left the room, leaving Hermione in the dark. At 17 years old, she could do magic, legally, outside of Hogwarts. Gods, she missed that school. She was so excited to be going back though.

The Final Battle had opened a lot of doors for her but it had closed some for her too. Her and Ron didn't talk anymore. He still hadn't apologized and Hermione figured he never would, which she was fine with. Mostly because she wasn't sure if she would accept. She hadn't seen Malfoy or Blaise since the Battle and she was sure they didn't want to see her, anyway. They had only stuck together because it was a necessity. She still wanted to know how they have been. She might have learned to completely trust them, they were Slytherin after all, but she wasn't going to judge directly.

"Hermione! Let's go!" She heard Mrs. Weasley yell. She laughed and made sure everything was packed in her bag. She had gotten the letter a week ago saying she was Head Girl. It also informed her that the Headmistress, Professor McGonagall, needed to talk to the other Heads after supper. She didn't miss the 's' after Head. Maybe they were trying something new this year.

She shrugged to herself as she jumped into the shower. She used her favorite coconut smelling shampoo and conditioner. She also used her coconut body wash. Over the vacation she had been really attached to the whole tropical scene. She also wanted to visit Italy sometime soon; it had been one of her favorite childhood vacations. When she was 6, her mom and dad had taken her there and she could still remember every part of their trip. She sighed and felt a tear fall out of her eye.

She still hadn't erased the memory charm on her parents. She felt that they would be safer; even with Voldemort gone some Death Eaters were still on loose. She couldn't stand it if her parents were hurt or even worse, killed. She had told the Weasley's about her choice and Mrs. Weasley said she could stay with them as long as they wanted. Hermione was forever grateful to the Weasley's. She shivered when the water ran cold. She got out and magically dried her hair, making it almost straight with a little wave. She put on some eyeliner and lip gloss. Ever since she had stayed the vacation, Ginny had gone fashion crazy, replacing her whole wardrobe with better clothes and she loved them.

She decided to put on a pair of black, ripped skinny jeans with a black tank top. She also grabbed a silky forest green, slinky vest. She figured if she was going to change, she was going to do it right. She grabbed her high top converse and changed them to a silver color to complete her outfit. She smirked when she looked in the mirror. She looked pretty hot. She shrunk her trunk and stuck it in the back pocket of her jeans. She also grabbed her new prized possession, her Nimbus 2000.

Over the vacation, Harry had insisted she learned to play quidditch. They found she was a good Keeper and she promised to tryout this year. She shrunk it and put it in her front jeans pocket. She took one look in the mirror and thought she needed something. She grabbed her silver eye shadow and lightly applied some. Now she was ready.

"I'll miss you, Hermione." Mrs. Weasley said, crying on her shoulder, thankfully, she had thought to water proof the vest before arriving. She smiled gratefully up at Mrs. Weasley.

"I'll miss you too. Thank you so much for having me." She said. Mrs. Weasley nodded and let her go. She shook hands with Mr. Weasley and hugged George and Fred, who had come to see Harry, Hermione, Ginny and Ron off. She promised to write all of them. She was walking towards the train, trying not to run into anyone when someone stuck there foot out and she tripped, waiting to meet the cold ground.

She suddenly felt two arms wrap around her waist. Instead of looking at who caught her, she looked at who tripped her, only to see the retreating red head of Ronald Weasley.

"Ron! You ignorant asshole!" She yelled, he turned briefly and winked at her before boarding the train. She straightened herself before finally looking up at who caught her.

"I'm so sorry. Thanks for that, by the way." Her sentence died off as she looked into the familiar olive toned face and honey eyes. His thick, wavy black hair fell into his eyes when he grinned. "Blaise?" She asked. He held his arms out.

"The one and only." He said, smirking. She hugged him, hesitantly at first. After feeling his arms wind around her waist, she relaxed. "How has your vacation been?" He asked, unwinding himself for her. She smiled and shrugged.

"Nothing, boring as hell. I learned how to play quidditch!" She said excitedly. He chuckled and nodded.

"Well, well, well, what do you know? Granger can fly." Malfoy said, laughing and nodding at her in greeting. She rolled her eyes and smiled.

"Let's see if you're laughing when I beat your ass this year." She said snickering. Malfoy smirked and nodded as if considering the idea.

"Yeah right." He said snorting. She laughed and stuck her tongue out. She looked back at Blaise saw he was watching them in amusement. She stepped on the train, the two Slytherins following. Hermione found Harry and Ron sitting in a compartment, leaning close, and obviously talking about something they didn't want overheard. She stiffened and threw the door open with a crash, making both of them jump.

"Hello, Ronald." She said overly nice. She could've sworn she saw his eyes rake over her body before he sneered at her. She shivered and noticed Malfoy and Blaise hadn't moved but were watching the whole thing with interest. She heard Blaise filling Malfoy in and heard him chuckle.

"Did you guys finally make up?" Harry asked, confused. Hermione snorted.

"If you call tripping me and almost making me fall on my face making up then everything is peachy keen." She said allowing venom to drip in her voice. Harry's head snapped toward Ron and Ron just reclined back in his seat, as if he was extremely bored.

"Why did you do that?!" He yelled, smacking Ron on the head.

"This isn't about me. She shouldn't be sleeping around with Slytherins!" Ron yelled jumping to his feet. Hermione bent down and snatched her wand from her converse and pointed it at Ron.

"Take. It. Back." She snarled. Ron just smirked.

"What are you going to hex me?" He asked.

"No, she won't but I will." Blaise drew his wand and muttered something and in a second Ron's face was covered in pimples. Hermione bust out laughing, leaning on Blaise for support. Malfoy chuckled and Harry snickered.

"Come on, Hermione you can sit with us, Harry can come too." Blaise said grabbing her hand. Harry nodded and left his friend on the ground, after checking briefly to make sure he wasn't too hurt. They walked through the corridors, Malfoy leading the way with Blaise still holding her hand. They went to the last compartment which looked dusty and empty.

"Um guys?" She asked. Blaise smirked at her.

"Watch this." He said. He took his wand out and tapped the door in what seemed to be random places. The door shook and the compartment started to glow. It expanded, filling with people and lights. She gasped when it finished growing to room that was about the size of a normal muggle living room maybe a little smaller. There was a wrap around couch that covered all but the far side which had a drink station and…a _hot tub?!_

"Is that a hot tub?" She asked astounded. Draco chuckled and nodded.

"Blaise and I made this place around 5th year. It's pretty cool, eh?" He asked opening the door. There were at least 10 guys just lounging around and she noticed she was the only girl.

"Hell yeah." She said, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. She turned to Harry suddenly. "What about Ginny?" She asked, getting ready to go looking for her when someone grabbed her arm.

"You'll come back though, right?" Blaise asked. She nodded, happy that he at least wanted her back.

"Alright, just say your name and tap the handle with your wand, I'll open it for you." He said, she nodded and hugged him quickly and started her search for Ginny.

Thankfully, she found Ginny walking down the corridors, looking for an empty compartment. She quickly ran up to her.

"Ginny, you have to come with me!" She squealed. She shrunk her things, and told her to put them in her pocket. After she did, Hermione grabbed her hand and pulled her back to the end of the train.

"Hermione, where are we going?" Ginny asked.

"We are going to share a compartment with Malfoy and Blaise." At Ginny's skeptical look she added "It will be worth it, trust me." She said, finally coming to the end of the train. She took her wand out and tapped the handle.

"Hermione Granger." She said. A few seconds later the door swung open and the dusty compartment changed to the luxurious place she had seen earlier. She stepped in, pulling Ginny with her. She saw her eyes widen as Ginny took in her new surroundings.

"This place is so cool!" She said in awe. Hermione nodded and saw everyone staring at her and Ginny curiously. She realized he had never seen any of the guys around school before.

"Gryffindors? What a pleasant surprise." A guy with brown, straight hair and green eyes stepped forward and offering his hand, she placed hers in his and was surprised when he bent and kissed her knuckles. "Luca, at your service." He said winking at her. She smiled and chuckled.

"Hermione, not at your service."She said smirking. He laughed and she heard a few other people chuckle.

"She'll fit right in." Luca said nodding. She noticed Ginny had already went to Harry who was talking to a blonde hair and blue eyed guy that appeared to be a seventh year. She felt a hand entwine with hers and she knew who it belonged to.

"Do you want a drink?" Blaise asked. Hermione shrugged.

"What do you have?" She asked. He shrugged.

"Well, we have firewhiskey, Malfoy's idea, not mine." He said when he saw confused look. " We also have butterbeer."

"Do you have any thing for a Pina Colada?" She asked. "Oh! It's a muggle drink but I think you might like it." She said laughing at his confused expression. She grabbed her wand and conjured the mix from she was sure it was lying in the Weasley cottage. She had hidden it when she discovered it tasted delicious with firewhiskey. The mix flew into her hands and she put it on the counter. She grabbed two napkins and a bottle of firewhiskey. She transfigured one napkin into a blender and the other into a spoon. On second thought, she grabbed 4 more napkins and transfigured two into goblets and two into those little umbrellas she had seen when she went to a muggle bar. She saw Blaise was watching her intently. She conjured some ice and threw it into the blender.

"What's that?" He asked, pointing to the blender. Hermione laughed but saw he was serious.

"It's a blender. It can chop things up and mix them together." She said. She poured some of the mix and firewhiskey into the blender and hit the 'blend' button. The noise echoed around the semi-quiet room. She saw Blaise jump and rolled her eyes.

"It's not that loud." She said checking to make sure it was ready. She quickly poured them both a drink and stuck the umbrella in them. She handed it to him and saw his hesitation.

"It's good, please try it." She said. He shrugged and took a gulp.

"Don't gulp it, just drink." She said, taking a drink from hers. She sighed happily when she felt the pleasant burning sensation down her throat and into her stomach. She saw Blaise looking at her and blushed.

"Well, are you going to try it?" She asked, taking another sip of hers. He nodded and took a sip. She saw his eyes widen and then a smile spread across his face.

"Wow." He said. She nodded.

"There delicious, aren't they?"

"What are you guys doing?" Luca asked. She poured him a Pina Colada and handed it to him.

"Just try it, dude. It's bloody amazing." Blaise said, taking another drink. Luca took a drink and like Blaise, his eyes widened.

"Wow."

"That's what Blaise said." Hermione said pouring herself another drink. She could already feel the firewhiskey affecting her and she only had one drink. She went and sat on the wrap around couch, patting the seat next to her. Blaise took the hint and sat down.

"You know, I never got to ask you. How did your vacation go?" She asked, leaning against him when he wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

"It was fine. I didn't do much. I spent most of my time at Draco's though." He said.

"Why?" She asked. He sighed.

"I may not have chosen a side, 'till the end at least, but my parents did. They chose Voldemort, of course. My father got a life sentence in Azkaban and my mother got her wand confiscated. She seemed so lost without him and she gradually just stopped caring about everything, including me, she's pretty much just a shell now. I've tried bringing her back but anything that reminds her of him sets her off. I hear her mumbling his name in her sleep. I was concerned for her but she told me not to worry and that she would be better soon. Her mother, my grandmother, said I should put her in St. Mungo's. Of course, I didn't listen to her." He said, not looking her in the eyes. She sighed and put her hand on his cheek, gently turning his face towards hers.

"I'm sure you don't want pity." She said, smiling when he looked relieved. "But if you ever need to talk or anything, I'll always be here." She said. He leaned his head in her hands, brushing his knuckles against her cheekbone before kissing her cheek.

"Thank you." He said before pulling away and drinking the rest of his Pina Colada. She did the same and snuggled closer to his chest. The last thing she felt before she let sleep take her, was the feeling of someone's lips on her forehead.

"Hermione? It's time to wake up." Someone whispered in her ear. She groaned and snuggled closer against a warm solid wall.

"Someone grab a goblet of water or something and throw it at her." She heard the smashing of glass and her eyes shot open. There were pieces of glass on the couch about a foot away with a water stain. Hermione groaned again, clutching her head. It felt like someone was hammering on her head. Blaise chuckled and handed her a potion. She downed it and looked around the room just in time to see Draco smack a seventh year over the head.

"I meant the bloody water not the whole fucking glass!" He yelled. Hermione giggled and leaned back feeling content now that her headache was gone.

"Oh, no, you don't! You have to change into your robes and uniform." Blaise said. Hermione nodded but didn't move. "Do you want me to help you?" He asked smirking and trailing a hand down her arm. Hermione blushed and she could've sworn she saw Draco smirk and wink at her. She grabbed a pillow and threw it as his face, which he deftly dodged. Damn quidditch skills. She noticed Ginny and Harry had left.

"I'm going to go find an empty compartment. I'll be right back." She said. Blaise nodded and Draco smiled at her when she walked out.

She found an empty compartment about 15 doors down and cast the appropriate locking spells and drawing the shades. She was pretty sure, in her Head Girl letter, that McGonagall had mention that the seventh years would be able to wear any clothes they would like. So she enlarged her suitcase and took her robes out. She wasn't going to put them on until they were in the carriage. Hermione shrunk her suitcase and stuck it in her back pocket, again. Walking out of the compartment, she ran right into Seamus.

"Oh! Hey, Seamus, what's up?" She asked, amused when his eye widened as he took in her new style.

"Nothing much. I like the new style. You look bloody hot." He kissed her on the cheek before running down the corridors. She was sure she was tomato red by now. She was still a little dazed when she tapped her wand on the door handle to the Slytherin compartment and she stuttered over her name. It's not that she was attracted to him or anything but she wasn't used to guys giving her attention. Speaking of guys…

"Took you long enough, Granger. And you didn't even change, what the hell did you do?" Draco asked.

"Well, _Draco_, if you must know I ran into Seamus in the corridors and I remember my Head letter saying that we could wear whatever we want this year. So, Ginny bought me a new wardrobe." She said, emphasizing his first name.

"You ran into Seamus?" Blaise asked curiously. Hermione rolled her eyes and sat down next to him, crossing her legs.

"Yes, he complimented my clothes." She snorted. She felt Blaise's body tense for a second before it quickly relaxed. Concerned, she laid a hand on his cheek.

"Are you ok?" She asked, he nodded quickly and thankfully, the train lurched to a stop. She stood up and walked out of the compartment, finding Harry and Ginny leaning against a wall but they weren't standing close together. She was about to ask them when she felt arms around her waist and scooping her up into a cradle. She giggled and squealed.

"Put me down!" She cried. Blaise laughed and hugged her to him tighter. She wrapped her arms around his neck and giggled again. She saw Draco over his shoulder, smiling at them.

Blaise carried her to the carriages, ignoring the stares and her protests. Truth be told, she felt perfectly content in his arms. They got into the Head carriage with Harry and Ginny close behind.

When they got to Hogwarts, no one would've been able to tell the Final Battle was fought there. The exterior was entirely re-done and she was sure the interior was too. She walked inside and sure enough, everything looked newer. It was still the same but it was different somehow. They walked to the Great Hall, now almost filled with kids. The High Table sit sat on the far end but now the Slytherin table was on the far left, then came Gryffindor, Ravenclaw and finally Hufflepuff on the far right. The plates, goblets and cutlery were the house colors and candles were also placed on the tables and not just floating in the air. Hermione hugged Blaise and Draco before walking towards the Gryffindor table. She sat next to Neville and across from Seamus. She smiled timidly at Seamus when he winked.

"Students!" They looked up to see McGonagall getting ready to make the back to school speech. "Mr. Filch had asked me to remind everyone that the Forbidden Forest is just that, Forbidden. There are also new rules posted inside your common rooms, please take the time to read them over. I ask that we take a moment of silence for those who fought and gave their lives to the war. They will always be remembered as the brave heroes they are." The entire hall was silent as everyone bowed their heads for about a minute. "Thank you. Now, as you all know, now that the war is over, more families have come out of hiding, therefore more students are coming to Hogwarts. For this reason, your Professors and I have decided that it would be best if there were three Heads instead of one. The top three seventh years and your new Head Boys and Girl; Miss Granger, Mr. Zabini and Mr. Malfoy." Hermione almost dropped her fork. Draco and Blaise were Heads too? She smiled when she looked at the Slytherin table. "Also, the Seventh Years only will be aloud to wear whatever they would like, even during the weekdays." She paused to let the sudden cheers die down. Hermione chuckled. "And finally, during this year, you will be able to sit wherever you want during breakfast; lunch and dinner to promote inter house unity. That is all; you may decide where you want to sit. You have a minute before the food will be served." She stepped away from the podium and sat back. Immediately there was chaos as everyone ran to get a seat next to their friends. She caught Blaise's eye and he waved her over.

"You guys want to go eat with Blaise and Draco?" She asked Ginny and Harry. They nodded and were getting ready to leave when Seamus stopped her.

"Is this some kind of pity joke? Why would you want to go eat with Slytherins?" He asked looking at her like she had grown another head.

"No, this is not some kind of _pity_ joke. And I want to go eat with _Slytherins_ because I bloody can. Mind your own damn business." She said before stalking over to the Slytherin table and sitting next to Blaise and Draco while Ginny sat across from her and next to Luca and Harry.

"Hey." Blaise greeted her. She smiled and kissed his cheek, letting her lips linger there for a little bit afterward. She chuckled when he took a sharp breath. Suddenly the table filled with food, effectively cutting off conversation. Hermione felt someone's hand entwine with hers and a quick glance under the table told her it wasn't Blaise's. Draco squeezed her hand and she smiled at him, grabbing Blaise's hand in her other one. A jolt of passed through her as soon as her hand came in contact with Blaise's. She heard the guys gasp but she was focusing on the feeling. She felt _complete_.

**Ok, I know this story is taking a different turn then even what I planned to do with it but, I decided it would be better this way. Please review, I know you want to!! I will try to update in a couple of days. Thanks for reading!!**


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